Man waited an hour to call 911 as man died from fentanyl he sold him, feds say
A New York man sold what became a deadly dose of fentanyl to another man, then waited an hour to call 911 as he lay unconscious, dying of an overdose in a stairwell, federal prosecutors said.
The accused dealer, Elijah Morales, 24, of Brooklyn, is now headed to prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
“With a chance to save the life of someone overdosing, Morales chose to save himself, delaying a life-or-death call to 911 to cover up his crimes,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.
Morales’ defense attorney did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Morales tried to cover up evidence of the drug sale, which happened inside Morales’ grandmother’s apartment building in Brooklyn early on June 21, 2023, before calling 911, prosecutors said .
When he did call police, Morales reported he found an unconscious stranger at the bottom of the stairwell inside the building as he went out to smoke a cigarette, according to prosecutors.
But surveillance footage showed Morales selling the man, referred to as “John Doe,” fentanyl less than two hours earlier, on the second floor of the apartment building, prosecutors said.
About 30 minutes after the sale, the man’s mom repeatedly tried calling him but could not reach him, following several text messages she sent that went unanswered, according to prosecutors.
The surveillance footage captured the man’s phone ringing while he was unconscious at the bottom of the stairs, prosecutors said.
Morales, meanwhile, was trying to get rid of evidence that could implicate him in the drug sale, according to prosecutors.
Footage showed him entering and leaving his apartment to pick up different items on the floor of the hallway as the man’s phone rang intermittently, prosecutors said.
One of the items included a bag of white powder, suspected to be the fentanyl he is accused of selling to the man, according to prosecutors.
Morales called 911 about 10 minutes later, around 4:07 a.m., prosecutors said.
When medics arrived, they unsuccessfully tried to revive the man, who died of acute fentanyl intoxication, according to prosecutors.
On Oct. 20, Morales was sentenced to 13 years and two months in prison on a charge of distributing fentanyl, causing the man’s death, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Morales pleaded guilty in January, court records show.
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